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cmcgint1's review against another edition
5.0
i have been searching for this book! It really explores the mother and daughter relationship and shows major character growth
thecozyreaderwbo's review against another edition
4.0
See my blog for active links!
http://bookreviewsbyjess.blogspot.com/2009/09/karma-for-beginners-by-jessica-blank.html
Plot: 3
Setting: 5
Writing: 3
Originality: 5
Characters: 5
Passion: 3
Overall: 24/30 = 80% = B
Cover/Title Bonus: 5
I received this for review from Disney-Hyperion.
Please note that this will be a long review. This book had some details that I want to focus on a bit. It also hit home on a few topics, so it’s a bit of a personal review too.
Summary (Amazon.com):
Fourteen-year-old Tessa has never had a normal life. Her mother, a frustrated hippie with awful taste in men, has seen to that. But when her mom pulls her out of school to live at an ashram in the Catskills, Tessa goes from being a freak among normal people to being an outcast among freaks. Freaks who worship an orange robe-wearing guru. And while her mom is buzzing with spiritual energy, and finding a little too much favor with the guru, all Tessa feels are weird vibes.
Unless she's with Colin, the gorgeous boy who fixes trucks for the ashram. The connection they share is the most spiritual thing Tessa has ever felt. But he's older-like illegally older-and Tessa's taking dangerous risks to spend time with him. Soon her life is blooming into a psychedelic web of secrets and lies and it's clear that something's about to give way. When it does, will she have anyone to hold on to? Will she even know herself?
Plot:
Tessa has a selfish mother who up and moves as often as possible, usually after a break up with a guy. They move to a “spiritual camp”, called an ashram. Her mom loves it there, nearly forgetting Tessa lives. Tessa meets a guy, Colin. He’s not from the ashram. He just fixes their vehicles. The ashram is a secret society of crazy people worshipping an orange robe-wearing guru, who is not what he seems (See: Overall section).
I enjoyed the plot to an extent. I liked learning about Tessa. I liked watching her transform into a woman. The ending of this book was not what I expected: it ended rather abruptly and not so well. (See: Overall section).
Setting:
The setting was awesome. The ashram was in the middle of no where in the Catskills. The buildings each had a weird name because ot he weird ashram language. There were awesome paths in the forests. Lots of statues. It’s set in 1986. There’s lots of music references. Lots of drugs (See: Overall section).
Writing:
I enjoyed the writing. I was addicted to reading this book. I knew that Colin and Tessa were going to be a thing and I wanted that to happen so bad. Tessa deserved some happiness in her life and I wanted that for her like I wanted to take my next breath. A lot more happens with Tessa than I expected. The drug use for one was like, wow. The sex was expected, but again, wow.
Originality:
I haven’t read any book like this. I usually read paranormals so I don’t usually rub up against something as “normal” as this book. It’s a contemporary Young Adult novel that focuses on a young woman, she’s 14!, who’s struggling with finding her way in the world with a mom who isn’t really there. The guru wasn’t expected, he’s not what he seems, but I hated the ending. I wanted justice and we get none. Only fear and running.
Characters:
Tessa is the main character. She’s 14! 14! She’s kind of a wild child by the end of this book: sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. (Had to say it!)
Colin is the vehicle repair guy at the ashram. He’s in his twenties. TWENTIES! He’s a really sweet guy who loves music, cars, and drugs.
Tessa’s mom. She’s a basket case. I kinda hated her character. I felt so bad for Tessa. She barely had a mother. She was more of a mother than her mother was! Her mom is mentally ill. There’s just no other explanation to it.
The guru dude. He needs to be burnt in hell. That is all.
Other characters of the ashram: GO HOME! Seriously.
Passion:
Yes, the 14 year old and the twenty-something have sex. With that said, it’s a sweet romance. They do become great friends before the hanky panky happens. The age factor was an issue with me, but it happens, right?
Overall:
Okay, now for my rant. I liked the book until the very end. So, do read it if you get a chance, just be prepared to be let down by the ending.
Loved the ashram setting, characters, and the overall development of the story, until the end of course.
Drugs. Drugs are abundant in this book. Specifically marijuana and acid. I guess since I usually don’t read books like this I wasn’t prepared for how it affected me. She’s 14! Sometimes I forget that I was once 14 (it wasn’t that long ago but still!) but now that I have my own daughter I’m freaking out! She’s 14! Guess what? I was younger than 14 when I was introduced to drugs: pot. I used it under 10 times total in my life, and each time before I was 16. Drugs are available to young kids. It’s sad and it infuriates me but it’s the truth. The one thing I stress after reading this book. Don’t ignore the topic of drugs with your children.
Sex. There’s sex in this book. It’s not as visual as the drugs but it’s there. She’s 14! He’s twenty-something! Again I’m back to the reminder that I was once 14 but I have a child now! I lost my virginity at 14, just shortly after my birthday. So, I really don’t have room to criticize Tessa’s decision making skills. This also goes back to how lame of a mother Tessa had. If her mom was anything but what she was in this book she would have had a better relationship with Tessa and could possibly have prevented any of this from happening, but then I would be naive to say this. Even kids with the best parents in the world fuck up, lie, have sex and do drugs or even worse.
I’d like to think that I will be a better parent and be able to counsel my daughter better so that she doesn’t make the same mistakes that I made. Talking to our children about these two issues is essential. And I’m beginning to think the younger they are the better. I don’t want my 14 year old having sex and doing drugs with a twenty-something guy!
And now about the ending. CONTAINS SPOILERS!
They just leave! They leave everything behind. Colin, the ashram, the nasty guru who should have been arrested, convicted, and then burned, in my opinion, and the entire ashram should have been shut down. It was corrupted. And I blame it all on Tessa’s mother. I hated her.
Cover/Title Bonus:
Love the cover! It’s perfect. And the title is nice.
Connect with Jessica Blank:
Facebook
MySpace (Almost Home)
Goodreads
LibraryThing
Author Guest Post:
Jessica Blank will be visiting next week with an Author Guest Post. I sent her a few questions I had after reading Karma For Beginners. I hope she agrees to address them in her post.
There might even be a giveaway! So check back!
Your thoughts?
Have you read this? Did you enjoy it? How do you feel about drug use and sex in YA books? She’s 14!
http://bookreviewsbyjess.blogspot.com/2009/09/karma-for-beginners-by-jessica-blank.html
Plot: 3
Setting: 5
Writing: 3
Originality: 5
Characters: 5
Passion: 3
Overall: 24/30 = 80% = B
Cover/Title Bonus: 5
I received this for review from Disney-Hyperion.
Please note that this will be a long review. This book had some details that I want to focus on a bit. It also hit home on a few topics, so it’s a bit of a personal review too.
Summary (Amazon.com):
Fourteen-year-old Tessa has never had a normal life. Her mother, a frustrated hippie with awful taste in men, has seen to that. But when her mom pulls her out of school to live at an ashram in the Catskills, Tessa goes from being a freak among normal people to being an outcast among freaks. Freaks who worship an orange robe-wearing guru. And while her mom is buzzing with spiritual energy, and finding a little too much favor with the guru, all Tessa feels are weird vibes.
Unless she's with Colin, the gorgeous boy who fixes trucks for the ashram. The connection they share is the most spiritual thing Tessa has ever felt. But he's older-like illegally older-and Tessa's taking dangerous risks to spend time with him. Soon her life is blooming into a psychedelic web of secrets and lies and it's clear that something's about to give way. When it does, will she have anyone to hold on to? Will she even know herself?
Plot:
Tessa has a selfish mother who up and moves as often as possible, usually after a break up with a guy. They move to a “spiritual camp”, called an ashram. Her mom loves it there, nearly forgetting Tessa lives. Tessa meets a guy, Colin. He’s not from the ashram. He just fixes their vehicles. The ashram is a secret society of crazy people worshipping an orange robe-wearing guru, who is not what he seems (See: Overall section).
I enjoyed the plot to an extent. I liked learning about Tessa. I liked watching her transform into a woman. The ending of this book was not what I expected: it ended rather abruptly and not so well. (See: Overall section).
Setting:
The setting was awesome. The ashram was in the middle of no where in the Catskills. The buildings each had a weird name because ot he weird ashram language. There were awesome paths in the forests. Lots of statues. It’s set in 1986. There’s lots of music references. Lots of drugs (See: Overall section).
Writing:
I enjoyed the writing. I was addicted to reading this book. I knew that Colin and Tessa were going to be a thing and I wanted that to happen so bad. Tessa deserved some happiness in her life and I wanted that for her like I wanted to take my next breath. A lot more happens with Tessa than I expected. The drug use for one was like, wow. The sex was expected, but again, wow.
Originality:
I haven’t read any book like this. I usually read paranormals so I don’t usually rub up against something as “normal” as this book. It’s a contemporary Young Adult novel that focuses on a young woman, she’s 14!, who’s struggling with finding her way in the world with a mom who isn’t really there. The guru wasn’t expected, he’s not what he seems, but I hated the ending. I wanted justice and we get none. Only fear and running.
Characters:
Tessa is the main character. She’s 14! 14! She’s kind of a wild child by the end of this book: sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. (Had to say it!)
Colin is the vehicle repair guy at the ashram. He’s in his twenties. TWENTIES! He’s a really sweet guy who loves music, cars, and drugs.
Tessa’s mom. She’s a basket case. I kinda hated her character. I felt so bad for Tessa. She barely had a mother. She was more of a mother than her mother was! Her mom is mentally ill. There’s just no other explanation to it.
The guru dude. He needs to be burnt in hell. That is all.
Other characters of the ashram: GO HOME! Seriously.
Passion:
Yes, the 14 year old and the twenty-something have sex. With that said, it’s a sweet romance. They do become great friends before the hanky panky happens. The age factor was an issue with me, but it happens, right?
Overall:
Okay, now for my rant. I liked the book until the very end. So, do read it if you get a chance, just be prepared to be let down by the ending.
Loved the ashram setting, characters, and the overall development of the story, until the end of course.
Drugs. Drugs are abundant in this book. Specifically marijuana and acid. I guess since I usually don’t read books like this I wasn’t prepared for how it affected me. She’s 14! Sometimes I forget that I was once 14 (it wasn’t that long ago but still!) but now that I have my own daughter I’m freaking out! She’s 14! Guess what? I was younger than 14 when I was introduced to drugs: pot. I used it under 10 times total in my life, and each time before I was 16. Drugs are available to young kids. It’s sad and it infuriates me but it’s the truth. The one thing I stress after reading this book. Don’t ignore the topic of drugs with your children.
Sex. There’s sex in this book. It’s not as visual as the drugs but it’s there. She’s 14! He’s twenty-something! Again I’m back to the reminder that I was once 14 but I have a child now! I lost my virginity at 14, just shortly after my birthday. So, I really don’t have room to criticize Tessa’s decision making skills. This also goes back to how lame of a mother Tessa had. If her mom was anything but what she was in this book she would have had a better relationship with Tessa and could possibly have prevented any of this from happening, but then I would be naive to say this. Even kids with the best parents in the world fuck up, lie, have sex and do drugs or even worse.
I’d like to think that I will be a better parent and be able to counsel my daughter better so that she doesn’t make the same mistakes that I made. Talking to our children about these two issues is essential. And I’m beginning to think the younger they are the better. I don’t want my 14 year old having sex and doing drugs with a twenty-something guy!
And now about the ending. CONTAINS SPOILERS!
They just leave! They leave everything behind. Colin, the ashram, the nasty guru who should have been arrested, convicted, and then burned, in my opinion, and the entire ashram should have been shut down. It was corrupted. And I blame it all on Tessa’s mother. I hated her.
Cover/Title Bonus:
Love the cover! It’s perfect. And the title is nice.
Connect with Jessica Blank:
MySpace (Almost Home)
Goodreads
LibraryThing
Author Guest Post:
Jessica Blank will be visiting next week with an Author Guest Post. I sent her a few questions I had after reading Karma For Beginners. I hope she agrees to address them in her post.
There might even be a giveaway! So check back!
Your thoughts?
Have you read this? Did you enjoy it? How do you feel about drug use and sex in YA books? She’s 14!
nextbestcoast's review against another edition
It was freaking weird and I might have actually hated it.
tcbueti's review against another edition
4.0
Tessa's single, free-spirit mom, Sarah, is moving them again--but this time it's to an ashram in the Catskills! Once they get there, her mom becomes even more distant and absorbed in her own "spiritual growth", leaving Tessa nearly constantly alone, both physically and emotionally.
I really liked this--I thought that Tessa's voice was very real, and that Blank really captured the magic of a first love/sexual relationship (even though it's pretty dysfunctional--he's six years older than Tessa, and he and his friends turn out to be stoners), and the frustration of having to accept parental choices--although in this case they are extreme. Blank must have spent some time in an ashram--it seems like she's nailed the politics, the jargon-laden rules, the pettiness and rank issues. But a lot of the story will ring true to many girls, struggling to find themselves in relation to their parents wishes and plans. As a mom, I'm a little worried that Blank made the sex and drug (Some pot, one acid trip) parts too appealing, but there were some consequences to the behavior (Were there enough? Good question.)
Here are some more: What do you think will happen next for Tessa and her mom? Did you like the ending? What do you think of Colin? What should have happened to him? To "the beard guy"? Are men no good? Why is her mom's name such a big deal for Tessa?
I just read "Room", too--talk about polar opposites in mothering!
I really liked this--I thought that Tessa's voice was very real, and that Blank really captured the magic of a first love/sexual relationship (even though it's pretty dysfunctional--he's six years older than Tessa, and he and his friends turn out to be stoners), and the frustration of having to accept parental choices--although in this case they are extreme. Blank must have spent some time in an ashram--it seems like she's nailed the politics, the jargon-laden rules, the pettiness and rank issues. But a lot of the story will ring true to many girls, struggling to find themselves in relation to their parents wishes and plans. As a mom, I'm a little worried that Blank made the sex and drug (Some pot, one acid trip) parts too appealing, but there were some consequences to the behavior (Were there enough? Good question.)
Here are some more: What do you think will happen next for Tessa and her mom? Did you like the ending? What do you think of Colin? What should have happened to him? To "the beard guy"? Are men no good? Why is her mom's name such a big deal for Tessa?
I just read "Room", too--talk about polar opposites in mothering!
thecozyreader's review against another edition
4.0
See my blog for active links!
http://bookreviewsbyjess.blogspot.com/2009/09/karma-for-beginners-by-jessica-blank.html
Plot: 3
Setting: 5
Writing: 3
Originality: 5
Characters: 5
Passion: 3
Overall: 24/30 = 80% = B
Cover/Title Bonus: 5
I received this for review from Disney-Hyperion.
Please note that this will be a long review. This book had some details that I want to focus on a bit. It also hit home on a few topics, so it’s a bit of a personal review too.
Summary (Amazon.com):
Fourteen-year-old Tessa has never had a normal life. Her mother, a frustrated hippie with awful taste in men, has seen to that. But when her mom pulls her out of school to live at an ashram in the Catskills, Tessa goes from being a freak among normal people to being an outcast among freaks. Freaks who worship an orange robe-wearing guru. And while her mom is buzzing with spiritual energy, and finding a little too much favor with the guru, all Tessa feels are weird vibes.
Unless she's with Colin, the gorgeous boy who fixes trucks for the ashram. The connection they share is the most spiritual thing Tessa has ever felt. But he's older-like illegally older-and Tessa's taking dangerous risks to spend time with him. Soon her life is blooming into a psychedelic web of secrets and lies and it's clear that something's about to give way. When it does, will she have anyone to hold on to? Will she even know herself?
Plot:
Tessa has a selfish mother who up and moves as often as possible, usually after a break up with a guy. They move to a “spiritual camp”, called an ashram. Her mom loves it there, nearly forgetting Tessa lives. Tessa meets a guy, Colin. He’s not from the ashram. He just fixes their vehicles. The ashram is a secret society of crazy people worshipping an orange robe-wearing guru, who is not what he seems (See: Overall section).
I enjoyed the plot to an extent. I liked learning about Tessa. I liked watching her transform into a woman. The ending of this book was not what I expected: it ended rather abruptly and not so well. (See: Overall section).
Setting:
The setting was awesome. The ashram was in the middle of no where in the Catskills. The buildings each had a weird name because ot he weird ashram language. There were awesome paths in the forests. Lots of statues. It’s set in 1986. There’s lots of music references. Lots of drugs (See: Overall section).
Writing:
I enjoyed the writing. I was addicted to reading this book. I knew that Colin and Tessa were going to be a thing and I wanted that to happen so bad. Tessa deserved some happiness in her life and I wanted that for her like I wanted to take my next breath. A lot more happens with Tessa than I expected. The drug use for one was like, wow. The sex was expected, but again, wow.
Originality:
I haven’t read any book like this. I usually read paranormals so I don’t usually rub up against something as “normal” as this book. It’s a contemporary Young Adult novel that focuses on a young woman, she’s 14!, who’s struggling with finding her way in the world with a mom who isn’t really there. The guru wasn’t expected, he’s not what he seems, but I hated the ending. I wanted justice and we get none. Only fear and running.
Characters:
Tessa is the main character. She’s 14! 14! She’s kind of a wild child by the end of this book: sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. (Had to say it!)
Colin is the vehicle repair guy at the ashram. He’s in his twenties. TWENTIES! He’s a really sweet guy who loves music, cars, and drugs.
Tessa’s mom. She’s a basket case. I kinda hated her character. I felt so bad for Tessa. She barely had a mother. She was more of a mother than her mother was! Her mom is mentally ill. There’s just no other explanation to it.
The guru dude. He needs to be burnt in hell. That is all.
Other characters of the ashram: GO HOME! Seriously.
Passion:
Yes, the 14 year old and the twenty-something have sex. With that said, it’s a sweet romance. They do become great friends before the hanky panky happens. The age factor was an issue with me, but it happens, right?
Overall:
Okay, now for my rant. I liked the book until the very end. So, do read it if you get a chance, just be prepared to be let down by the ending.
Loved the ashram setting, characters, and the overall development of the story, until the end of course.
Drugs. Drugs are abundant in this book. Specifically marijuana and acid. I guess since I usually don’t read books like this I wasn’t prepared for how it affected me. She’s 14! Sometimes I forget that I was once 14 (it wasn’t that long ago but still!) but now that I have my own daughter I’m freaking out! She’s 14! Guess what? I was younger than 14 when I was introduced to drugs: pot. I used it under 10 times total in my life, and each time before I was 16. Drugs are available to young kids. It’s sad and it infuriates me but it’s the truth. The one thing I stress after reading this book. Don’t ignore the topic of drugs with your children.
Sex. There’s sex in this book. It’s not as visual as the drugs but it’s there. She’s 14! He’s twenty-something! Again I’m back to the reminder that I was once 14 but I have a child now! I lost my virginity at 14, just shortly after my birthday. So, I really don’t have room to criticize Tessa’s decision making skills. This also goes back to how lame of a mother Tessa had. If her mom was anything but what she was in this book she would have had a better relationship with Tessa and could possibly have prevented any of this from happening, but then I would be naive to say this. Even kids with the best parents in the world fuck up, lie, have sex and do drugs or even worse.
I’d like to think that I will be a better parent and be able to counsel my daughter better so that she doesn’t make the same mistakes that I made. Talking to our children about these two issues is essential. And I’m beginning to think the younger they are the better. I don’t want my 14 year old having sex and doing drugs with a twenty-something guy!
And now about the ending. CONTAINS SPOILERS!
They just leave! They leave everything behind. Colin, the ashram, the nasty guru who should have been arrested, convicted, and then burned, in my opinion, and the entire ashram should have been shut down. It was corrupted. And I blame it all on Tessa’s mother. I hated her.
Cover/Title Bonus:
Love the cover! It’s perfect. And the title is nice.
Connect with Jessica Blank:
Facebook
MySpace (Almost Home)
Goodreads
LibraryThing
Author Guest Post:
Jessica Blank will be visiting next week with an Author Guest Post. I sent her a few questions I had after reading Karma For Beginners. I hope she agrees to address them in her post.
There might even be a giveaway! So check back!
Your thoughts?
Have you read this? Did you enjoy it? How do you feel about drug use and sex in YA books? She’s 14!
http://bookreviewsbyjess.blogspot.com/2009/09/karma-for-beginners-by-jessica-blank.html
Plot: 3
Setting: 5
Writing: 3
Originality: 5
Characters: 5
Passion: 3
Overall: 24/30 = 80% = B
Cover/Title Bonus: 5
I received this for review from Disney-Hyperion.
Please note that this will be a long review. This book had some details that I want to focus on a bit. It also hit home on a few topics, so it’s a bit of a personal review too.
Summary (Amazon.com):
Fourteen-year-old Tessa has never had a normal life. Her mother, a frustrated hippie with awful taste in men, has seen to that. But when her mom pulls her out of school to live at an ashram in the Catskills, Tessa goes from being a freak among normal people to being an outcast among freaks. Freaks who worship an orange robe-wearing guru. And while her mom is buzzing with spiritual energy, and finding a little too much favor with the guru, all Tessa feels are weird vibes.
Unless she's with Colin, the gorgeous boy who fixes trucks for the ashram. The connection they share is the most spiritual thing Tessa has ever felt. But he's older-like illegally older-and Tessa's taking dangerous risks to spend time with him. Soon her life is blooming into a psychedelic web of secrets and lies and it's clear that something's about to give way. When it does, will she have anyone to hold on to? Will she even know herself?
Plot:
Tessa has a selfish mother who up and moves as often as possible, usually after a break up with a guy. They move to a “spiritual camp”, called an ashram. Her mom loves it there, nearly forgetting Tessa lives. Tessa meets a guy, Colin. He’s not from the ashram. He just fixes their vehicles. The ashram is a secret society of crazy people worshipping an orange robe-wearing guru, who is not what he seems (See: Overall section).
I enjoyed the plot to an extent. I liked learning about Tessa. I liked watching her transform into a woman. The ending of this book was not what I expected: it ended rather abruptly and not so well. (See: Overall section).
Setting:
The setting was awesome. The ashram was in the middle of no where in the Catskills. The buildings each had a weird name because ot he weird ashram language. There were awesome paths in the forests. Lots of statues. It’s set in 1986. There’s lots of music references. Lots of drugs (See: Overall section).
Writing:
I enjoyed the writing. I was addicted to reading this book. I knew that Colin and Tessa were going to be a thing and I wanted that to happen so bad. Tessa deserved some happiness in her life and I wanted that for her like I wanted to take my next breath. A lot more happens with Tessa than I expected. The drug use for one was like, wow. The sex was expected, but again, wow.
Originality:
I haven’t read any book like this. I usually read paranormals so I don’t usually rub up against something as “normal” as this book. It’s a contemporary Young Adult novel that focuses on a young woman, she’s 14!, who’s struggling with finding her way in the world with a mom who isn’t really there. The guru wasn’t expected, he’s not what he seems, but I hated the ending. I wanted justice and we get none. Only fear and running.
Characters:
Tessa is the main character. She’s 14! 14! She’s kind of a wild child by the end of this book: sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. (Had to say it!)
Colin is the vehicle repair guy at the ashram. He’s in his twenties. TWENTIES! He’s a really sweet guy who loves music, cars, and drugs.
Tessa’s mom. She’s a basket case. I kinda hated her character. I felt so bad for Tessa. She barely had a mother. She was more of a mother than her mother was! Her mom is mentally ill. There’s just no other explanation to it.
The guru dude. He needs to be burnt in hell. That is all.
Other characters of the ashram: GO HOME! Seriously.
Passion:
Yes, the 14 year old and the twenty-something have sex. With that said, it’s a sweet romance. They do become great friends before the hanky panky happens. The age factor was an issue with me, but it happens, right?
Overall:
Okay, now for my rant. I liked the book until the very end. So, do read it if you get a chance, just be prepared to be let down by the ending.
Loved the ashram setting, characters, and the overall development of the story, until the end of course.
Drugs. Drugs are abundant in this book. Specifically marijuana and acid. I guess since I usually don’t read books like this I wasn’t prepared for how it affected me. She’s 14! Sometimes I forget that I was once 14 (it wasn’t that long ago but still!) but now that I have my own daughter I’m freaking out! She’s 14! Guess what? I was younger than 14 when I was introduced to drugs: pot. I used it under 10 times total in my life, and each time before I was 16. Drugs are available to young kids. It’s sad and it infuriates me but it’s the truth. The one thing I stress after reading this book. Don’t ignore the topic of drugs with your children.
Sex. There’s sex in this book. It’s not as visual as the drugs but it’s there. She’s 14! He’s twenty-something! Again I’m back to the reminder that I was once 14 but I have a child now! I lost my virginity at 14, just shortly after my birthday. So, I really don’t have room to criticize Tessa’s decision making skills. This also goes back to how lame of a mother Tessa had. If her mom was anything but what she was in this book she would have had a better relationship with Tessa and could possibly have prevented any of this from happening, but then I would be naive to say this. Even kids with the best parents in the world fuck up, lie, have sex and do drugs or even worse.
I’d like to think that I will be a better parent and be able to counsel my daughter better so that she doesn’t make the same mistakes that I made. Talking to our children about these two issues is essential. And I’m beginning to think the younger they are the better. I don’t want my 14 year old having sex and doing drugs with a twenty-something guy!
And now about the ending. CONTAINS SPOILERS!
They just leave! They leave everything behind. Colin, the ashram, the nasty guru who should have been arrested, convicted, and then burned, in my opinion, and the entire ashram should have been shut down. It was corrupted. And I blame it all on Tessa’s mother. I hated her.
Cover/Title Bonus:
Love the cover! It’s perfect. And the title is nice.
Connect with Jessica Blank:
MySpace (Almost Home)
Goodreads
LibraryThing
Author Guest Post:
Jessica Blank will be visiting next week with an Author Guest Post. I sent her a few questions I had after reading Karma For Beginners. I hope she agrees to address them in her post.
There might even be a giveaway! So check back!
Your thoughts?
Have you read this? Did you enjoy it? How do you feel about drug use and sex in YA books? She’s 14!
groundedwanderlust's review against another edition
1.0
I was really looking forward to reading this book but now I'm pretty sure my feelings on this book go far beyond dislike. Actually, I hate this book. This book deals with several serious, adult themes in a very flippant manner. No matter what happened in the story, the characters just kept on with their lives. None of them had to face the real consequences of their actions. The setting was also a part of this book I did not like. Based on the synopsis, I thought the story would either be set in the present or in the 1970's. Having the book set in the 1980's seemed very random and actually detracted from the story by the very fact that there was absolutely no reason for it. All of the characters have extremely bad personalities with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
Spoiler
including mild pedophilia, child abandonment/endangerment, and statutory rapehezann73's review against another edition
3.0
14-year-old Tess lives with her mom in....well that's kind of the problem. They move around A LOT. Some people might call Tess's mom, Sarah, a freak, but she'd prefer to be called a free spirit. It's Sarah's quest for happiness and personal fulfillment at lands the two of them at a compound for an off beat spiritual group (read: cult). While Sarah feels she's finally found where she belongs, Tess feels more lost than ever. The only person who makes her feel grounded is 20-year-old Colin. Tess starts to lie to everyone around her in order to spend time with Colin - and that's just the start of her problems.
I wasn't amazed by this book, but I did like it. Tess and Sarah were both compelling characters and at times I didn't know who I felt more sorry for - Tess, who's own mother is so self-absorbed she misses her daughter's birthday, or Sarah, who wants acceptance so badly she's willing to do anything for it. Actually, you could aruge that both characters crave acceptance, love, understanding and are both incredibly self-absorbed (although Tess, at 14/15 is supposed to be).
Tess's budding relationship with Colin is so disturbing. I can understand Tess getting so wrapped up, but the fact that Colin didn't see anything wrong with it REALLY bothers me.
I did have a small problem with the time frame. The best I could figure, the book is set in the mid to late 80's, but aside from the author wanting to be able to reference music, I didn't see any particular reason for it. I'd be reading along, then there'd be an 80's music reference that would totally throw me off.
Overall this was a good book. I'd recommend it for high school readers because of the drug use and sex scenes.
I wasn't amazed by this book, but I did like it. Tess and Sarah were both compelling characters and at times I didn't know who I felt more sorry for - Tess, who's own mother is so self-absorbed she misses her daughter's birthday, or Sarah, who wants acceptance so badly she's willing to do anything for it. Actually, you could aruge that both characters crave acceptance, love, understanding and are both incredibly self-absorbed (although Tess, at 14/15 is supposed to be).
Tess's budding relationship with Colin is so disturbing. I can understand Tess getting so wrapped up, but the fact that Colin didn't see anything wrong with it REALLY bothers me.
I did have a small problem with the time frame. The best I could figure, the book is set in the mid to late 80's, but aside from the author wanting to be able to reference music, I didn't see any particular reason for it. I'd be reading along, then there'd be an 80's music reference that would totally throw me off.
Overall this was a good book. I'd recommend it for high school readers because of the drug use and sex scenes.
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